The DisOrient Film Festival or the DisOrient Asian and Pacific Islander American Film Festival of Oregon (also known as the DisOrient Asian American Film Festival of Oregon), is a film festival that was started in 2006 and is based in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

. According to their website and mission statement, the organization is "a grassroots and volunteer-run film festival committed to presenting honest portrayals of the diversity of the Asian and Pacific Islander American experience" and when "selecting new and exciting films for our festival" the

W.E.B. Du Bois William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ( ; February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American-Ghanaian sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up i ...

standard of "for us, by us, or about us" is used to select recent and undistributed works. It was founded in 2006 by Jason Mak.

Background

Disorient is also a program of the Chinese American Benevolent Association, a

based

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...

non-profit cultural arts organization in Oregon that runs a Chinese

Lion dance F Lion dance () is a form of traditional dance in Chinese culture and other Asian countries in which performers mimic a lion's movements in a lion costume to bring good luck and fortune. The lion dance is usually performed during the Chinese New ...

youth group, composed mostly of middle school, high school, and college age students, as well as offers college scholarships for local Asian American youth and aspiring filmmakers.

Films showcased

The film festival has showcased a number of notable films from leading Asian and Asian American filmmakers, including

Justin Lin Justin Lin (, born October 11, 1971) is a Taiwanese Americans, Taiwanese-American film director. His films have grossed US$2.3 billion worldwide as of March 2017. He is best known for his directorial work on ''Better Luck Tomorrow'' (2002), the ...

's ''

Finishing the Game ''Finishing the Game'' is a 2007 mockumentary film directed by Justin Lin focusing on Bruce Lee's final movie ''Game of Death'' (1972), which was unfinished at the time of his death. Shot in 18 days,''Finishing the Game'' comically satirizes the ...

'' (2007),

Juwan Chung Juwan Chung (born 1983) is an American director and writer. His gangland film ''Baby'' won a Special Jury Prize for Best Feature, Narrative at the 2007 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival and lead Actor David Huynh won a Special Jury Prize at ...

's ''

Baby An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...

'' (2008) (where Chung won a Best Director award in the 2008 festival),

Jessica Yu Jessica Lingmin Yu (born February 14, 1966) is an American film director, writer, producer, and editor. She has directed documentary films, dramatic films, and television shows. Yu won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject in ...

's ''

Ping Pong Playa ''Ping Pong Playa'' is a 2007 American Sports film, sports comedy film directed by Jessica Yu and written by Yu and Jimmy Tsai. The story centers on a Chinese Table tennis, ping pong family living in California with a buffoonish and irreverent son. ...

'' (2007) (which won a Best Feature Film award at the festival),

Dave Boyle Dave Boyle (born 1982) is an American director, writer, editor, and actor. He has written and directed several movies that utilize primarily Asian or Asian-American casts, including the feature films ''Big Dreams Little Tokyo'' (2006), ''White ...

's '' Surrogate Valentine'' (2011) (which won a Best Feature Film award at the 2011 festival),

Jeff Chiba Stearns Jeff Chiba Stearns is a Canadian independent animation and documentary filmmaker who works in traditional and computer-based techniques. Biography Chiba Stearns was born in Kelowna, British Columbia, of European and Japanese heritage. He is a ...

' ''

One Big Hapa Family ''One Big Hapa Family'' is a 2010 live-action/animated documentary film directed by Canadian director Jeff Chiba Stearns Jeff Chiba Stearns is a Canadian independent animation and documentary filmmaker who works in traditional and computer-base ...

'' (2010) (the 2011 festival Opening Night film), Minh Duc Nguyen's ''Touch'' (2011) (Opening Night film of the 2012 Festival) and more. 2014's Opening Night film and Best Picture winner is Steven J. Kung's

A Leading Man ''A Leading Man'' is a 2013 American drama film written and directed by Steven J. Kung as his feature film debut, starring Jack Yang, Heather Mazur, and Tsai Chin. The film is distributed by Mance Media, and premiered on October 17, 2013, at the ...

. Other films that have won Best Film at the festival include Kimberlee Bassford's documentary, ''

Patsy Mink Patsy Matsu Mink (née Takemoto; December 6, 1927 – September 28, 2002) was an American attorney and politician from the U.S. state of Hawaii. Mink was a third-generation Japanese American, having been born and raised on the island of Maui. ...

: Ahead of the Majority'' (2008), a documentary about

, the first

woman of color The term "person of color" ( : people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is primarily used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is primarily associated with, the U ...

and the first

Asian American Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous people ...

woman elected to

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

Awards and venue

Every year, the festival also awards the Jason D. Mak Award for Social Justice and the Pacific Asian Community Alliance Courage Award to narrative or documentary films that exhibit compelling social issues. The recipient of those two awards in 2012 was Konrad Alderer's ''Enemy Alien''. The festival also awards Best Feature Film, Best Director and Best Short Film (also called the Third Eye Best Short Film Award) annually as well. Previous winners of the Best Short Film award include Vincent Lin's ''Love, NY'' (starring

Randall Park Randall may refer to the following: Places United States *Randall, California, former name of White Hall, California, an unincorporated community * Randall, Indiana, a former town *Randall, Iowa, a city *Randall, Kansas, a city * Randall, Minneso ...

), J.P. Chan's ''Beijing Haze'', Brendan Uegama's ''Henry's Glasses''. Usually the film festival is held at the Bijou Art Cinemas in

. The film festival has received strong commendations from filmmakers such as

Patrick Epino Patrick Epino is an American filmmaker. His feature film ''Mr. Sadman'' made for the Independent Feature Project (IFP) Independent Filmmaker Labs is a satirical dark comedy about a Sadam Hussein body-double loses his job and moves to Los Angeles ...

, J.P. Chan, William Lu, singer

Dawen Dawen Wang (), known as Dawen, is an American singer and songwriter. He first gained prominence when he won Kollaboration Acoustic 4. Dawen's first single "Wake Up", deals with Asian American stereotypes and prejudice towards minorities, and is ...

, Gia Vang and more.What Are People Saying About Disorient? http://disorientfilm.wordpress.com/2011/04/29/what-are-people-saying-about-disorient/

External links

DisOrient Film Festival Official PageOregon Confluence: DisOrient Film FestivalDisOrient Film Festival Official Twitter

References

{{reflist 2006 establishments in Oregon Annual events in Eugene, Oregon Asian-American culture in Oregon Film festivals in Oregon Pacific Islands American history Film festivals established in 2006 Asian-American film festivals